Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Priase the Lord ! Hope you are doing well by HIS grace. I am writing to JOYnet after a long break. But I do keep reading the mails. Now the time has come for us to enjoy, Christmas, the festival of JOY. I can't resist my self from bombing your mailbox this time.
People around the world are getting ready to receive HIM. Let's prepare our hearts and minds to receive HIM into our lives. "JESUS MADE HIS HOME WITH US THAT WE MIGHT MAKE OUR HOME WITH HIM. " I am sending some facts about Christmas. I think this would be useful. Dear old Joyneters (old !! not by your age but by your presence in JOYnet family) , sorry for paining you with this info again this year. ( I can't help it even if you are getting pained.. I do send this again next year. ha ha ha ha ha !!!!!!!!) Here they go............... 1. What is Christmas? The word Christmas comes from the words Cristes maesse, or "Christ's Mass." Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus for members of the Christian religion. Most historians peg the first celebration of Christmas to Rome in 336 A.D. 2. Why is Christmas sometimes spelled Xmas? The word for Christ in Greek is Xristos. Christmas also got the X because of this. The use of the shortened form Xmas became popular in Europe in the 1500s. 3. How Santa Claus came to be.... A long time ago, a bishop named Nicholas lived in what is now the country of Turkey. No one knows much about him. But there are stories that he often helped children who were in need. Many years after his death, Nicholas was made a saint. In time, he became the patron saint of children. Today, the date of his death, December 6, is an important date in some countries in Europe. On the night before, children put out their shoes and hang up their stockings. Early next morning, they rush to see what gifts Saint Nicholas left them. Saint Nicholas visits towns and cities, leads parades, talks to children, and often hands out small gifts. He is dressed as a bishop, of course, wearing a red or white robe and a tall, pointed hat. St. Nicholas's scary helper....... Saint Nicholas always has a helper. In the Netherlands, this helper is called Black Peter. In Germany, he's Knecht Ruprecht. In parts of France, he's Pere Fouettard. And in Luxenbourg, he's known as Hoesecker. Of course, all the children love Saint Nicholas. But they're quite afraid of his helper. For it is the helper who keeps track of who was good and who was naughty. Naughty children may get only switches, with which their parents can spank them! They may even be carried away in the helper's bag until they learn to be good! Dutch settlers in America continued to celebrate this feast day. Their name for Saint Nicholas was Sinterklaas. And in English, this became Santa Claus. HAVE A COLOURFUL AND FANTASTIC CHRISTMAS !!!! Love, Enjoy in Jesus Varghese Bangalore, India **************************************************************** This mail is generated from JOYnet, a Jesus Youth mailing list. To unsubscribe, send a mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe to this mailing list, visit http://www.jesusyouth.org/joynet For automatic help, send a mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In case of any issue related to the mailing list contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] ****************************************************************
